JOE Bennett’s remarkable run under Tony Mowbray is set to come to an end.

The England Under-21 left-back will miss the Easter programme because of a virus, believed to be mumps. Bennett has made 28 consecutive league starts since Mowbray took over the helm. No other Boro player comes close.

Mowbray said: “Joe will be unavailable for a while, but then he’s played a lot of football since I came to the club. In fact he’s played just about every game.

“But then it’s not the worst thing in the world for Joe to miss a couple of games or so. While he recovers from the illness, he’s got the opportunity to have a rest and recharge his batteries.”

Bennett has developed into a top prospect over the past few months and Mowbray must now decide who will replace the 21-year-old at Hull tomorrow.

Andrew Taylor offers one option, though the Hartlepool lad is continuing to play an increasingly influential role in midfield and has scored three goals in his last six appearances.

There are other left-back options for the manager, including Matthew Bates, Jonathan Grounds and Andrew Davies. Mowbray is likely to make at least one further change in the side because Leroy Lita is expected to start at the KC Stadium.

Lita proved his fitness when coming off the bench for the final half hour at Burnley.

Mowbray said: “We have been setting the team up generally around two strikers. We changed it at Burnley and maybe that made a contribution towards the insipid performance on Tuesday because we didn’t get enough players in front of the ball.

“That situation improved in the second half when we had two strikers on the pitch.”

Mowbray also has the Turn to Page 46

opportunity to bring back Marvin Emnes, who is available after completing his three-match ban.

Whatever the line-up, the manager is hoping for a positive reaction following the dismal effort at Burnley.

The match was followed by a brief dressing room lock-in at Turf Moor in which both manager and players voiced their opinions. Mowbray is hoping that Boro will now be focused on a big test against another play-off chasing side tomorrow.

The Boro boss said: “We addressed a few things after the game at Burnley but we have put it to bed and concentrated on preparing for Hull.

“Yes we hope for a reaction to any defeat, but we have an honest group of players who want to win games. Hopefully they will go out with all guns firing tomorrow.

“Hull have lost one or two at home, but they had a good win against Doncaster last week.

“We will go there looking to make ourselves hard to beat and we will try to make it enjoyable for the fans.”

Boro should have a following of close to 2,000 fans at the KC Stadium.

Hull manager Nigel Pearson may select an unchanged side.

The former Boro defender said: “We’re playing against a side that’s still got something to play for and I’m sure Tony will want to finish the season with a run of decent form to take into next year. We have to be careful not to expect an easy game. It won’t be that.”